Within minutes, we were walking past a bunch of vehicles to the front door of his aunt and uncle’s house. I’d known they had a big family, but walking by all of those cars really drove the point home, no pun intended.
“Hey,” Ani greeted the minute Trevor ushered me through the front door. “It’s good to see you again.”
“You too,” I said, following Trevor’s lead as he took off his boots. “How’s Arielle? Is she sleeping yet?”
“Unfortunately, no,” Ani said ruefully. “But we’re getting about two more hours than before, so I’m just going to be thankful for that.”
“Yikes,” I murmured.
Just then, three little boys of varying ages came running down the hallway yelling for Trevor. As soon as they reached him they started wrapping their little bodies around his torso, and with a look of pure horror Etta practically dove out of his arms in an effort to reach me.
Thankfully, I caught her just before she toppled out of his arms.
“Boys,” he said firmly, bracing himself on the wall. The boys instantly quieted and looked at him expectantly. “Morgan, this is Keller, Gavin, and Gunner. They’re Shane and Kate’s boys.”
“Hey guys,” I said, trying and failing to get Etta to release her death grip on my neck. “This is Etta.”
They said their hellos to me and Etta, but lost interest really quickly as they continued to climb on Trevor. I watched quietly as he listened to each of their stories with complete concentration and replied with questions that showed he’d been listening. Slowly, we moved out of the entryway and into the living room, where Ani and Abraham were sitting on the couch across from another woman.
As soon as the woman turned to say something to Trevor, I recognized her.
“Hey Trev—“ Her eyes widened when she saw me and Etta. “Holy crap, you’re here!”
She jumped off the couch happily and came in for a hug. There wasn’t anything uncomfortable or awkward about it, either. I had only one arm free, but I used it to squeeze her back.
“It’s good to see you again,” Kate said like we were old friends and it hadn’t been over ten years. “You look great.”
“You do too,” I replied.
“Ha!” She laughed. “I don’t think I’ve washed my hair in a week.”
“I only did today because we were coming here,” I confessed, making her laugh some more.
“Well, don’t feel the need to do it next time,” she said, leading me to the little grouping of seats. “Friday night dinner isn’t anything fancy.”
“One time the guys got back from hunting right before dinner and they all came to the table smelling like complete ass,” Ani added with a snicker. “Liz didn’t even say a word, she just moved all of their plates to the back porch.”
“Oh, God,” Kate said with a groan. “I totally remember that.”
“We filled the freezer that year,” Abraham pointed out.
“Completely irrelevant,” Ani replied with a conciliatory pat on his knee.
“Hey, Katie,” Trevor said as he finally extracted himself from the little boys.
She stood back up and gave him a big hug, murmuring something I couldn’t hear into his ear. He nodded, but when he pulled away I couldn’t read anything in his expression.
“Did you guys fly?” he asked, sitting down next to me.
“Of course,” she replied. “It’s more expensive, but it helps me keep my sanity.” Kate looked at me and smiled ruefully. “I have five kids. Road trips are the worst.”
I didn’t say much as the conversation flowed around me. There was an easy relationship among all of them that was evident in the way they teased and bickered. I liked that. It reminded me of what it was like when Miranda and I hung out with Danny and Lorraine’s boys.
“I hear I have a great-niece in here,” Trevor’s aunt called as she walked into the room. “Morgan, I’m not sure if you remember me. I’m Liz.” She reached out and shook my hand warmly.
“Of course I remember you,” I replied with a smile. “This is Etta.”
“Hi, Etta,” Liz said, leaning down a little so she could see Etta’s face. “It’s kind of overwhelming in here, isn’t it? You’ll get used to it, though, and when you’re ready, there’s toys in the other room.”
Etta didn’t reply, but she smiled a little around the thumb in her mouth.
“It sometimes takes a minute for her to warm up,” I said apologetically.
“Aw, I don’t blame her,” Liz said, grinning as she stood straight again. “We’re a noisy bunch.”
She left almost as quickly as she’d come, assuring everyone that dinner was almost done and she didn’t need any help. As she left the room, a little girl came in and climbed onto Trevor’s knee. Etta’s entire body stiffened as she watched, then relaxed as she became fascinated with who I assumed was Kate’s oldest daughter.
“Hi, I’m Sage,” she said, introducing herself to me as soon as she’d sat down.